Filing period upcoming for City Council race

Monday marks the first day candidates for Santa Clarita City Council can file paperwork with the city to make their candidacies official.

Prospective candidates must collect signatures from at least 20 registered city voters before filing nomination paperwork.

Those signatures must come from people who are registered to vote, who are at least 18 years of age, and who reside within the city limits.

Prospective candidates are encouraged to schedule an appointment with the City Clerk’s office to receive candidate materials. That office can be reached at 661-255-4391.

The candidate filing period is open until Jan. 10. Should any incumbent council member elect not to file papers by that date, the deadline will be extended to Jan. 15 for all non-incumbent candidates.

One council member whose term is up in 2014, Frank Ferry, has said he will not seek re-election.

While Monday is the first day of the official nominating period, the race for City Council kicked off long ago, with the first candidate, William S. Hart Union High School District board member Gloria Mercado-Fortine, announcing her intentions to run in January this year.

Mercado-Fortine’s move touched off a flood of other announced candidacies, including those of former congressional candidate Dante Acosta, Canyon Country Advisory Committee Chairman Alan Ferdman, longtime Canyon Country resident

Berta Gonzalez-Harper, Newhall County Water District board member Maria Gutzeit, city Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commissioner Duane Harte.

Incumbent City Councilwoman Marsha McLean and Mayor Laurene Weste have also said they plan to seek re-election.

There are three seats open in the 2014 election, which will be held April 8. Those elected will serve four-year terms.

For more information on the election, or to download an electronic version of the city’s Candidate Handbook, visit www.VoteSantaClarita.com.